A Little Help, Please?
http://www.atomicsportsmedia.com/articles/935/1/A-Little-Help-Please/A-Little-Help-Please.html
Doug Wilson
Doug Wilson is a current student at The Ohio State University studying
communications. After graduation he hopes to find a job in the
sports field in anyway possible. He is a die-hard Cleveland Browns,
Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Cavalier and of course Ohio State
Buckeye fan. His favorite things to do incude playing flag football and
basketball on eight foot tall basketball hoops. His favorite athlete of
all time is Sandy Alomar Jr.
communications. After graduation he hopes to find a job in the
sports field in anyway possible. He is a die-hard Cleveland Browns,
Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Cavalier and of course Ohio State
Buckeye fan. His favorite things to do incude playing flag football and
basketball on eight foot tall basketball hoops. His favorite athlete of
all time is Sandy Alomar Jr.
By Doug Wilson
Published on 11/7/2007
Some of the NBA's biggest stars are speaking out about a lack of a supporting cast, and many fans are paying the price. As Atomic Sports columnist Doug Wilson writes, the problem is that many great players have been teamed up with lousy general managers.
Some of the NBA's biggest stars are speaking out about a lack of a supporting cast, and many fans are paying the price. As Atomic Sports columnist Doug Wilson writes, the problem is that many great players have been teamed up with lousy general managers.
A Little Help, Please?
Teamwork. It’s the name of the game, and even in the NBA the best superstars can’t win a title on their own.
Although it is not unusual to hear the complaints of veteran players it seems that this year the gripes are getting louder than ever. More than one superstar has aired his displeasure with the front office in hopes of bringing change to the locker room. It is only a matter of time before we hear more.
All-star players like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Joe Johnson have all stated at least once they are not content with their current situations. In some of these situations the complaints are louder than others.
As we all know by now Kobe is not happy with the current state of the Lakers organization. He has said more than once he wants to be traded. Of course, this request followed the multiple times he asked for help in the form of big-name players.
LeBron recently complained that key role players Sasha Pavlovic and Anderson Varejeao hadn’t been re-signed yet. He also stated he wished the front office would have built on last year’s success and added some more pieces to the puzzle.
Johnson didn’t take his complaints to the levels of Kobe or complain about specific players like LeBron, but he did air his frustrations with being surrounded by such a young team.
Any way you look at it, there are certainly players feeling like they are carrying the weight themselves. So do these players have a legit grievance? Basketball is a team sport and even the best players cannot win by themselves.
The problem in my opinion lies with the general managers of these teams. The GM is the most important role in the organization. A team like the San Antonio Spurs can have a solid team for a decade, or a team like the Minnesota Timberwolves can be crippled for the same time period. It just depends whether your GM is R.C. Buford or Kevin McHale.
In the NBA, more than any other league, a poor general manager can ruin a franchise. The reason for this is the fact that contracts are all guaranteed in the NBA and the league has a salary cap. A team like the Cleveland Cavaliers is strapped with all sorts of bad contracts. The contracts of Larry Hughes, Eric Snow and Damon Jones ruin the flexibility for the length of their deals.
A team like the Atlanta Hawks has been ruined by poor decisions in almost every facet of the game. Whether it is a bad contract or repeatedly bad draft picks, poor decisions by a GM leave the team in their current state.
The Los Angeles Lakers are in a situation where they don’t have nearly enough pieces for a championship but they also aren’t bad enough to rebuild. The GM has to make the tough decision of starting over or making a blockbuster deal. To this point, Mitch Kupchak hasn’t pulled the trigger either way and his best player is letting him know it is time to do so.
As a huge NBA fan, it is tough watching a league filled with so many overpaid players. The best thing about the NFL is the ability for teams to cut unwanted players and rebuild. So while I’m like anyone else and sick of hearing about Kobe trade demands, I can’t put all the blame on him.
It all comes down to the general managers. Right now, I’m hearing Kobe and LeBron’s cries for help but unfortunately there is nothing their GMs can do. They have already locked themselves into a situation with no cap room and no great trade assets. It’s a tough situation for the players and it’s a tough situation for the fans. Hopefully it just doesn’t cause LeBron to demand a trade like Kobe.
Although it is not unusual to hear the complaints of veteran players it seems that this year the gripes are getting louder than ever. More than one superstar has aired his displeasure with the front office in hopes of bringing change to the locker room. It is only a matter of time before we hear more.
All-star players like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Joe Johnson have all stated at least once they are not content with their current situations. In some of these situations the complaints are louder than others.
As we all know by now Kobe is not happy with the current state of the Lakers organization. He has said more than once he wants to be traded. Of course, this request followed the multiple times he asked for help in the form of big-name players.
LeBron recently complained that key role players Sasha Pavlovic and Anderson Varejeao hadn’t been re-signed yet. He also stated he wished the front office would have built on last year’s success and added some more pieces to the puzzle.
Johnson didn’t take his complaints to the levels of Kobe or complain about specific players like LeBron, but he did air his frustrations with being surrounded by such a young team.
Any way you look at it, there are certainly players feeling like they are carrying the weight themselves. So do these players have a legit grievance? Basketball is a team sport and even the best players cannot win by themselves.
The problem in my opinion lies with the general managers of these teams. The GM is the most important role in the organization. A team like the San Antonio Spurs can have a solid team for a decade, or a team like the Minnesota Timberwolves can be crippled for the same time period. It just depends whether your GM is R.C. Buford or Kevin McHale.
In the NBA, more than any other league, a poor general manager can ruin a franchise. The reason for this is the fact that contracts are all guaranteed in the NBA and the league has a salary cap. A team like the Cleveland Cavaliers is strapped with all sorts of bad contracts. The contracts of Larry Hughes, Eric Snow and Damon Jones ruin the flexibility for the length of their deals.
A team like the Atlanta Hawks has been ruined by poor decisions in almost every facet of the game. Whether it is a bad contract or repeatedly bad draft picks, poor decisions by a GM leave the team in their current state.
The Los Angeles Lakers are in a situation where they don’t have nearly enough pieces for a championship but they also aren’t bad enough to rebuild. The GM has to make the tough decision of starting over or making a blockbuster deal. To this point, Mitch Kupchak hasn’t pulled the trigger either way and his best player is letting him know it is time to do so.
As a huge NBA fan, it is tough watching a league filled with so many overpaid players. The best thing about the NFL is the ability for teams to cut unwanted players and rebuild. So while I’m like anyone else and sick of hearing about Kobe trade demands, I can’t put all the blame on him.
It all comes down to the general managers. Right now, I’m hearing Kobe and LeBron’s cries for help but unfortunately there is nothing their GMs can do. They have already locked themselves into a situation with no cap room and no great trade assets. It’s a tough situation for the players and it’s a tough situation for the fans. Hopefully it just doesn’t cause LeBron to demand a trade like Kobe.